Vegan Peppermint Patty Slice

Who’s ready for an easy vegan holiday dessert? I know I am! I’ve had this one in my holiday recipe holster since first creating it this past summer, and have been dying for the right time to share it.

A quick note about this recipe: The pictures make it look HUGE, but it’s actually a small dessert with fairly dainty portions. I use a small 4×8-inch loaf pan. If you use a standard-size (9×5-inch) loaf pan, the dessert will have less height (but no less delicious flavour!). Hey—I’ve never complained about dessert in any shape or form, but I wanted to mention it so you don’t find yourself puzzled over a smaller-than-expected finished product.

Be sure to read my tips in the headnote and at the bottom of the recipe. You know I love to give you flexibility in your own kitchens, so this recipe is bursting with my testing notes and modifications. I actually had to cut myself off from writing more!! #nerdalert

5 from 9 reviews

Vegan Peppermint Patty Slice

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, no bake/raw

By Angela Liddon

This peppermint patty is a showstopping dessert that's coloured naturally with spinach—though only you and I will know its nutritious secret! As an added bonus it’ll only set you back 15 minutes of prep. The filling calls for at least 4 hours of freezing time, so I like to whip it up before bed to pop in the freezer overnight. This way, all I have to do the next day is add the ganache on top and freeze it for another 10 minutes. If you’re making this dessert around the holidays, it’s delightful served with a crushed candy cane topping. My standby, year-round topping is raw cacao nibs, which also add a lovely (and nutritious!) crunch. The crunchy topping really completes the dessert, so I don’t recommend skimping on it, and be sure to serve additional cacao nibs or crushed candy cane on top of each slice before serving. Lastly, it’s important to use a very small loaf pan so the dessert has height. I use a 4x8-inch loaf pan by Baker’s Secret. You could also try making individual servings by filling a silicone cupcake mold.

Directions:

Line a small (approximately 4x8-inch) loaf pan or 6-inch cake pan with plastic wrap so the slab will be easy to lift out after freezing.

Add all of the filling ingredients (cashew butter, maple syrup, melted oil, almond milk, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, spinach, and salt) into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth. Make sure no chunks of spinach leaves remain. Taste and add more peppermint extract if desired.

Pour the filling into the prepared pan. Place the pan on a flat spot in the freezer and freeze for 4 to 5 hours, until the filling is solid. There’s no need to cover it unless you plan on keeping it in the freezer longer than 8 hours.

When the filling is solid, prepare the ganache topping. In a medium pot, combine the chocolate chips, coconut cream (make sure water is drained before adding), and salt. Melt the chips over the lowest heat setting, stirring frequently, until smooth.

Remove the filling from the freezer and, gripping the plastic wrap as a handle, lift it out of the pan. Flip the filling onto a large plate and peel off the plastic wrap.

Pour the ganache over top of the solid filling, starting in the centre, and allow it to cascade down the sides a bit. Immediately scatter the crushed candy cane or cacao nibs all over the ganache. Return it to the freezer, uncovered, and freeze for about 10 minutes, until the ganache is firm.

Slice and garnish with fresh mint, if you’re fancy! Sprinkle additional cacao nibs or crushed candy cane on top of each slice and enjoy immediately. Return leftovers to the freezer right away as the dessert does soften as it sits.

Tips:

* Instead of cashew butter, you can use 1 1/4 cups (180 g) of soaked raw cashews. Soak them in boiled water for 1 hour, rinse, drain, and add them into a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix) along with the rest of the ingredients. If your blender has a hard time blending nuts smooth, I suggest that you use the raw cashew butter version instead. You can also use homemade raw cashew butter. To make your own, simply process raw cashews in a heavy-duty food processor until smooth. I don’t recommend using roasted cashew butter as it gives the slice a strong nutty flavour.

** The intensity of peppermint extracts vary by brand, so 1 1/2 teaspoons is intended as a guide—please add it slowly to taste.

*** I only recommend using spinach if your blender is good at blending leafy greens smooth. If your blender tends to leave spinach chunks in smoothies, I would suggest omitting the spinach in this recipe just to make sure you aren’t going to find spinach chunks in the slice. Or see my tip about using a food processor below.

**** Coconut cream is the solid white cream in a can of full-fat coconut milk. Chill the can overnight before using to ensure the coconut cream is solid. I like to open a mini can (160 mL) of full-fat coconut milk for this recipe; this way, there isn’t a lot left over to use up. The remaining amount is just perfect for throwing into your next smoothie!

No blender? No problem! If you have a heavy-duty food processor you can make the filling in the processor, just be warned that the spinach doesn’t break down fully (my version had some very fine green speckling resembling mint sugar), and you’ll want to run the processor for a good while to help the spinach break down as much as possible.

If you don’t have cacao nibs or crushed candy cane on hand, feel free to top the ganache with finely chopped dark chocolate.

Angela, You have blown my mind with this dessert down to the ganache. Mint desserts are my favorite. But wow, this lovely has such elegant visual appeal. I love the fresh mint on top!!! It’s an intrusive plant and has taken over my side yard and I STILL have some. So if anyone wants any…..please pop over and take all you want =) www.raiseyourgarden.com

My daycare moms, children, teens and I all fell for this decadent dessert. It was so quick to make…simple and straightforward, that the luxurious result took me by surprise!

We were so lucky to be the first to taste this recipe this past summer and it was another taste test that had the children struggling to get hold of their moms’ portions…but the mommies were NOT letting go! It worked perfectly with the cashew butter and with the soaked cashew option. It was irresistable with crunchy cacao nibs, but I am looking forward to making it festive with crushed candy canes :)

I know they are going to be happy when they see this post…none of them could wait for the recipe to come out!

We have a patch of Chocolate Mint growing in our garden. To meet the demands for this dessert from my kids, I have made it many times, often swapping out the mint extract (or even leaving it in!) and using 1/3 cup packed mint leaves. No need to reduce the amount of spinach. It turned out lovely! In fact, this recipe turns out incredibly well every time, whether I use soaked cashews, cashew butter, mint leaves, mint extract…it’s a keeper!

If you are using a stronger flavoured mint, such as spearmint, you’d want to start with 1/4 packed cup and add more to taste. With fresh mint, the flavour intensifies as the patty chills. Delicious!

Hey Danielle, The coconut oil is used to help the freezer dessert solidify, without it I’m afraid it would be too soft. What about trying cocoa butter? It’s stronger in flavour though so I’m not sure about the taste.

Tried this tonight and they were amazing!! I am a huge mint chocolate fan and it completely satisfied my craving. It’s so nice to have healthy recipes to share for the holidays and that everyone can enjoy. Thank you!

Oh my gosh, when I saw the pic I knew I had to make this, absolutely loved it, so creamy and not sweet, leaves your mouth feeling minty fresh! The crushed candy canes are a must! Just a beautiful dessert❤️

This will definitely be making an appearance on my dinner table this holiday season! I love that you’ve incorporated baby spinach for some sneaky veggies….my family will never guess there’s spinach in it haha

These are amazing, make them now!! I made this recipe for a holiday party this weekend and they were a huge hit. Everyone loved that they were green because of spinach, and I was told they’re essentially salad, so they’re healthy, right?! I only had roasted cashew butter, not raw, so mine turned out darker green than the photos, but still beautiful. This recipe made 2 dozen mini cups which I did in a silicone muffin pan. They popped out easily once they were completely frozen. My husband took a few skiing with him as well, and while they melted from not being in the freezer all day, they were the perfect high energy snack. I plan to make more of these since I still have candy canes left over. So good and super easy!!

My favorite plant – based dessert recipe so far! I made in cupcake tins and garnished with crushed peppermint candies. I need to make another batch for Christmas now because my husband and I have eaten the entire first batch. Yum!!

Hello Angela, just made the greenixture tastes so good! I m just wondering how i’m supposed to cover it in the freezer, as I m going to make and pour the chocolate mix on it tomorrow, so it will be more than 8 hours in the freezer…I put a Saran wrap without it touching the mixture..and why is it important to cover it if it’s more than 5. Hours in the freezer? Thanks!

Hey Julie, So glad you’re trying this dessert! Frozen desserts like this one tend to get some frost on the top if they’re in the freezer for extended periods of time, and I find covering them helps prevent this a bit. (Either way it’s not a big issue as it’ll be covered with chocolate anyhow!). I hope you enjoy the slice!

Hi Lise, I’ve swapped the cashew butter for 3/4 cup soaked raw sunflower seeds and it worked. The flavour changes a but but still a nice option! A reader also said almond butter worked nicely. Hope this helps. :)

Wow, I made this for a fitness bootcamp to start off the New Year and it came out incredible! So dense and similar to a fudge consistency. Smells amazing and I actually used almond butter and it was a hit.

Hey Erika, Oh I like the way you think…I need to go to your fitness bootcamp! lol. So glad it was a big hit. I agree with you on the fudge consistency. I’ll have to try it with almond butter. So far I’ve tried cashew and soaked raw sunflower seeds (I used about 3/4-1 cup with success).

I posted this on my Pinterest site. I love it and have made it 3 times over the Christmas holidays. We chunked it up and served small blocks as the recipe doesn’t make that much.

I used cashew butter the first time then the soaked cashews the other two and I didn’t see much difference. The last time I made it without the chocolate coating and I think I like it better that way. It is very rich and delicious. We played with the amount of peppermint extract and 1 or 1.5 tsp. worked well.

Funny thing… the omnivores had a hard time believing there was spinach in this dessert. It is so little and the other flavors are strong that it just colors it.